Just discovered this new post on The Christian Chronicle explaining some virtues and downfalls of MySpace. Thought it was interesting, so here’s a clip:

With everything there is good and bad. Myspace has its good too! It can be an awesome tool for ministry. When there are adolescents involved every day with non-Christians around the globe through myspace there are unlimited opportunities for ministry and the spread of the gospel. There are things that we can take from a technology that adolescents will use anyway and make it to be glory for God. Myspace is used by the secular world to promote concerts, TV shows, political propaganda and more. Christian teenagers could use myspace to promote social justice, spiritual formation, mission opportunities, and God’s glory. In a recent camp I attended we were given the task to creatively find a way to help our assigned country in the issues they were having. The students in my group decided to create a myspace that would create interest in Venezuela in order to change the president’s mind about allowing American missionaries into the country. This is a radical, but useful way to use myspace for ministry.

Also Christians have the right and the responsibility to reclaim things for God. Our church has reclaimed a site on myspace for ministry. Instead of worrying over silly quizzes or random comments we have provided a place that while kids are surfing through myspace they can stop at ours and have a devotional thought for the week and comment. Not to mention that this myspace becomes one of their friends and more responsibility is tacked onto how they represent themselves in the virtual world. What the world created for communication of any kind, Christians especially adolescent Christians can reclaim for God’s glory.

Whether your opinion of myspace is positive or negative we cannot escape the fact that it is present and highly used. We can, however, take what is being widely used and steer it into a glorifying direction and reclaim it for ministry. This may be a challenge for us who grew up talking face-to-face and writing with paper and pen, but it can be done and we can help it happen. This thing called myspace can be a tool for His glory!

JG

Having just crossed 600 posts this morning I thought I would toss out some of the highlights for the last 100. I did this at 500 and 400 and people seemed to like to so here goes. Good times – thanks for reading!

• Great softballs of fire
• Tony’s U-Haul gets stolen
• Super Sweet Leader’s Night highlights
• I was on G4′s Attack of the Show
• Wildside’s back to school blog
• Met Michael Chang at Chipotle
• Rick debunks prosperity preaching
• When the pastor calls an audible
• Best. Picture. Ever.
• Difficult church transitions
• The cost of a night out with my wife
• Learnings from Rock Harbor
• Live bookmarks and tabbed browsing

JG

We’ve added a new tour of Simply Youth Ministry to the video podcast feed so everyone can get a behind the scenes look at the offices and some of our upcoming projects. If you’re a subscriber, it should automatically download for you in iTunes, or you can also grab it from Feedburner directly if you want to just check it out ala carte.

Get an early look at the new website, new catalog and our new intern Josh!

JG

It doesn’t really have cocaine in it, but you can be sure your students will dig this new energy drink for the name alone. Heres a clip from today’s Daily Mail:

The high-energy drink is being billed as a “legal alternative” to the class A drug, using a massive hit of caffeine instead of cocaine.

Its maker claims the title is “a bit of fun” but critics slammed the technique as a cynical ploy which could tempt young people into using drugs.

The drink’s inventor, Jamie Kirby, said: “It’s an energy drink, and it’s a fun name. As soon as people look at the can, they smile.”

He claims Cocaine is “350 percent stronger than Red Bull” but that people do not experience the “sugar crash” or jitters that he says some of the other energy drinks can produce.

JG

The show and links are alive. Watch at your own risk! Arrr!

JG

NBC cast a youth pastor named Matthew McNutt on the Biggest Loser tonight. We’re best friends (on MySpace, hahaha) so I thought I should give him a shout out tonight so you can tune in. If you get a chance to see the show and want a reason to cheer for someone, here’s your guy!

JG

OK, so when I first posted Google ads on the site, I got some flak from people saying things like I was “caving in” or a “sellout.” And at first, it was like $.02 a day so I wasn’t too thrilled about it either. Then, people started clicking ads and here were are a month later and I’ve made enough to buy a video game.

So my kids and I will be playing Lego Star Wars 2 later today on the Xbox 360 because of the ads! Fun!

JG

UPDATE: Some people have written in asking about getting their blog or website set up with Google Ads – so in the right-hand column I’ve added a little white banner you can click to get set up yourself quickly and easily! ——–>